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A Pilot In Vitro Evaluation of the “Air Test” for Perineural Catheter Tip Localization by a Novice Regional Anesthesiologist
Author(s) -
Johns Jason,
Harrison T. Kyle,
Steffel Lauren,
Howard Steven K.,
Kim T. Edward,
Kou Alex,
Mariano Edward R.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of ultrasound in medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.574
H-Index - 91
eISSN - 1550-9613
pISSN - 0278-4297
DOI - 10.7863/ultra.33.12.2197
Subject(s) - medicine , catheter , test (biology) , positive predicative value , medical physics , predictive value , surgery , paleontology , biology
The “air test” is used clinically to infer perineural catheter location and has been recently evaluated for use by experts. However, its utility for practitioners with less experience is unknown. We tested the hypothesis that the air test, when performed by a novice regional anesthesiologist, will improve assessment of perineural catheter tip position in a validated porcine‐bovine model and determined the test's positive and negative predictive values, sensitivity, and specificity for a novice. In contrast to the results of the expert study, the air test did not improve the novice's assessment of perineural catheter tip location over chance.